CONNECTICUT HUSKIES
vs.
North Carolina State Wolfpack

Saturday, September 8 • Noon • BIG EAST Network
Rentschler Field (40,000/Natural Grass)
East Hartford, Conn.

Television
BIG EAST Network Game of the Week - WATCH HERE
Eamon McAnaney, David Diaz-Infante and Paul Carcaterra

Connecticut Radio
WTIC-AM 1080 (flagship)

THE GAME
Connecticut and North Carolina State have met just once previously, as the Wolfpack took a 31-24 decision Oct. 11, 2003 , in Raleigh, N.C. … NC State used a 56-yard interception return by LB Freddie Aughtry-Lindsay with five seconds left in the fourth quarter to break a tie game … The game featured two NFL quarterbacks as Connecticut’s Dan Orlovsky threw for 299 yards and three touchdowns, while NC State’s Phillip Rivers threw for 234 yards.

CONNECTICUT (1-0)
Head Coach
Paul Pasqualoni (Penn State ’72)
6-7, second season at Connecticut
147-83-1, 21st season as collegiate head coach

NOTES
Connecticut was impressive on nearly all fronts in its 37-0 win against Massachusetts to open the 2012 season … The whitewash marked Connecticut’s first shutout since a 38-0 win against Maine in the 2007 season … The Huskies did not allow the Minutemen to cross midfield and held Massachusetts to just three first downs and 59 yards of offense … Connecticut’s offense, meanwhile, went for 372 yards while the special teams contributed three field goals, 124 yards on returns and a touchdown off a blocked punt …. QB Chandler Whitmer, a junior college transfer who had originally signed with Illinois, made his Connecticut debut and threw for 219 yards on 15-of-29 passing … RB Lyle McCombs rushed for 82 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries … LB Yawin Smallwood had a team-high seven tackles with a sack and 3.5 tackles for loss, while CB Dwayne Gratz had a 37-yard interception return for a touchdown … Saturday’s game is the first of two straight against an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent for Connecticut, which faces Maryland, and former Huskies coach Randy Edsall, next week in College Park, Md.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE (0-1)
Head Coach
Tom O’Brien (Navy ’71)
33-31, sixth season at North Carolina State
108-76, 16th season as collegiate head coach

NOTES
North Carolina State looks for its first win of the season after the Wolfpack fell 35-21 to Tennessee last Friday in Atlanta … NC State fell behind 22-7 at the end of the first quarter and saw its comeback bid stymied by four interceptions … NC State allowed five plays of more than 20 yards against Tennessee as the Wolfpack allowed 524 total yards … The Wolfpack faced two BIG EAST teams last season, falling 44-14 at Cincinnati in the regular season and defeating Louisville 31-24 in the Belk Bowl … NC State went 8-5 last year and was 4-4 in the ACC … The Wolfpack have gone 11-2 at home and 4-7 in road games since the start of the 2010 season … The top player is CB David Amerson, a first team all-America selection last year after he led the nation with 13 interceptions — the most by a Bowl Subdivision player since 1968 … QB Mike Glennon enters his second year as the starter … Glennon threw for 288 yards against Tennessee, but was intercepted four times.